Reinsurance News

Investment in automation helping insurance margins stay resilient: J.P. Morgan

9th August 2017

The increasing trend among insurance companies to invest in automation, particularly around the claims handling process, has disrupted the insurance cycle and is the main reason margins are higher than some would have expected at this point in the cycle, according to analysts at J.P. Morgan. Margins in the non-life insurance ... Read the full article

Munich Re beats expectations, although reinsurance clearly pressured

9th August 2017

Reinsurance giant Munich Re reported a decline in its second-quarter profits this morning, as lower reinsurance profitability eclipsed improved performance in its Ergo primary division. However the reinsurer beat analyst expectations and remains on track for its 2017 targets. Pressures in the reinsurance market continue to be evident in the largest ... Read the full article

Argo expands in reinsurance thanks to Ariel Re acquisition

8th August 2017

Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. has expanded its reinsurance portfolio with the help of the scale and reach added following the acquisition of Ariel Re. Overall Argo has increased its gross written premiums by almost 23% to $687.2 million in Q2 2017, but in its international business the reinsurance growth ... Read the full article

Hedge fund reinsurers’ performance lags behind traditional players: S&P

8th August 2017

Despite increasing numbers of hedge fund reinsurance (HFRs) start-ups entering the soft P&C reinsurance marketplace, their performance lags behind that of traditional Bermudian reinsurers with many yet to generate an underwriting profit, Standard & Poor's (S&P) said in a recent report. This calls into question how sustainable the HFR strategy will be ... Read the full article

London market data capture solution launched by the LMG

8th August 2017

The London Market Group (LMG) has announced that one of the core solutions within the London Market Target Operating Model (LM TOM), called Structured Data Capture (SDC), is now live for terrorism, financial lines, marine, and property and casualty. SDC is an online service that converts the policy wordings of a ... Read the full article

Fitch expects Asian reinsurers to increase use of debt capital

8th August 2017

Fitch Ratings expects the Asian bond market to gain traction in the near to medium term as the persistent low-interest rate environment fuels reinsurers in the region to look at debt capital over equity funding. The majority of reinsurance companies across Asia are equity-funded, but in a low-interest rate environment, which ... Read the full article

Susan Lane joins Willis Towers Watson’s Global Captive practice in Bermuda

8th August 2017

Global insurance and reinsurance broker, Willis Towers Watson, has announced the appointment of Susan Lane as director, consulting and development for North America and senior captive consultant, based in Bermuda. Lane was previously the co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tokio Solution Management, and her new role sees her form part of Willis' ... Read the full article

Global life reinsurance industry poised for continued growth momentum: S&P

8th August 2017

Global ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) expects emerging life insurance regions, such as the Asia-Pacific, and continued growth in the longevity risk transfer space to drive the expansion of the international life reinsurance sector. Over the last three years S&P has observed strong growth momentum in the longevity risk transfer space, ... Read the full article

Aon Netherlands to acquire UMG from Aegon for €295 million

8th August 2017

Netherlands-based subsidiary of insurance and reinsurance brokerage Aon, Aon Groep Nederland, has announced that it will acquire Unirobe Meeùs Groep (UMG) from Aegon for €295 million (US$348.4 million). The deal is expected to close in the fourth-quarter of this year, and remains subject to council advice and approval from Dutch regulators. The ... Read the full article

Insurance sector M&A declines in H1 but expected to rebound: Clyde & co

8th August 2017

The volume of insurance mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the first-half of 2017 declined by 8.6% to 170 deals when compared with the preceding six months, although more deals are expected in the remainder of the year, according to Clyde & Co. Clyde & Co's recently published mid-year 2017 Growth Report ... Read the full article

Fitch predicts continued premium rate declines in Asia as reinsurance competition intensifies

8th August 2017

Rating Agency Fitch has predicted a continued trend of softening reinsurance premium rates for the remainder of 2017 in Asia, as competition intensifies with both established reinsurers expanding operations in the region and increasing numbers of start-ups joining the playing field. Capital abundance has brought further declines to Asia's reinsurance premium ... Read the full article

Price declines steeper than expected as surplus capital defines market: Morgan Stanley

7th August 2017

Morgan Stanley analysts predict reinsurance pricing will continue to soften in the 0-5% range as traditional and alternative reinsurance capital attracts increasing numbers of investors seeking the safety of uncorrelated assets, making a market turn unlikely in the near future. Pricing pressure in reinsurance has followed the trend of decline of ... Read the full article

Mutual Reinsurance Bureau commences search for new CEO

7th August 2017

The current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mutual Reinsurance Bureau (MRB), Timothy Dorr, is to retire from the joint reinsurance association once a new CEO has been chosen. Dorr has served as the Illinois-based joint reinsurance association's CEO since 2010, and has announced plans to retire once a replacement CEO has ... Read the full article

GIC Re files for IPO

7th August 2017

India's state-backed reinsurance company, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re), has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. According to a draft red herring prospectus, filed August 7th, 2017, the firm plans to sell 17.2 million new shares, while the government, which currently ... Read the full article

Ransomware attacks up by 50% in H1 2017: Beazley

7th August 2017

Insurer Beazley has said that during the first six months of this year ransomware attacks increased by 50% when compared with the previous year, with accidental breaches also continuing to drive a significant volume of losses. The insurer has released its H1 2017 Beazley Breach Insight report, which, based on its ... Read the full article